School Your Leads

SCHOOL YOUR LEADS HOW EDUCATING YOUR LEADS CAN TURN THEM INTO SALES The process of nurturing leads to a sales-ready state is all about educating them with relevant and timely content and information to prepare them for purchase. There are distinct stages in the nurturing process with optimal content for each. If lead nurturing is an education process, then incoming leads are your new students. Each lead comes into the sales cycle with varying degrees of understanding about your product -- and all are eager to learn more. In order to get them to a sales-ready state (or graduation), they need to be nurtured through the different stages of the buying cycle. FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL Just like a traditional educational system, your leads should only advance to the next stage or level once they have reached an appropriate level of understanding. It's important that leads progress through the education process at their own pace, but here are some basic guidelines for educational materials that will be helpful at each stage of the buying cycle. FRESHMAN YEAR The Freshman is brand new to your industry and product line. He or she may have found you through one of your marketing or lead generation campaigns, but isn't quite sure what your product offers. Softer introductory emails, industry white papers, helpful blog posts, and articles are great content ideas for this level of interest. Latroductory Emails Helpful Blog Posta ndustry white Papers SOPHOMORE YEAR The Sophomores have experienced some of your content, but may have forgotten about you or lost interest. Let's call this the sophomore slump. To re-engage sophomores, utilize interesting content like infographics or videos to draw their attention. Videos Infographics SUBTEST JUNIOR YEAR The Junior is familiar with your company and industry, but isn't quite warm enough to get passed over to your sales team. He or she is experienced enough to know the right questions to ask, and is ready to be nudged in your product's direction. This is a great time to separate yourself from your competitors and remind your prospect why you are the industry leader with powerful information about your product's strengths. Features Demo Client Case Studies SENIOR YEAR The Senior is ready to actually buy and should be passed to sales. Seniors have done their homework, are finished with exams and ready to graduate into a full-fledged customer. The best content for this segment is pricing information, free trials, demos, and comparisons of your product with what competitors offer. Seniors are the leads that your sales team really want, and are most likely to close. Prjeing Pricing Sheet Features You Features Comparison Them V For more information on how to improve your marketing, visit Pardot.com (pardot marketing automation